8 August, 2025

3 top education stories

Explore this week’s news roundup to uncover the key challenges and priorities for schools across the country.

6 min read

1. Latest figures: Pupil attendance in schools

New figures show a fall in pupil absence, but nearly 1 in 5 still persistently absent, writes DfE.

Pupil attendance across England improved slightly in 2024/25, according to the latest Department for Education statistics.

The overall absence rate was 6.9%, down 0.3% on the previous year – the equivalent of around 5.31 million extra days in school. Attendance stood at 93.1% for the academic year.

By school type, absence rates were:

5.2% in state-funded primaries (3.7% authorised, 1.5% unauthorised)
8.6% in state-funded secondaries (5.3% authorised, 3.3% unauthorised)
12.9% in state-funded special schools (9.5% authorised, 3.4% unauthorised)

Persistent absence – pupils missing at least 10% of sessions – fell to 18.7% (down 2 percentage points), but rates remain highest in secondary (24.3%) and special schools (35.8%).

By pupil characteristics, absence was higher among pupils eligible for FSM (10.6%) and pupils with an EHC plan (13.7%) or those receiving SEN support (10.6%).

Source: Pupil attendance in schools (DfE)

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2. £22.5m announced for after-school clubs to help ‘isolated’ kids

Up to 400 schools will get a share of the three-year investment to boost extra-curricular activities, writes Schools Week.

The prime minister has announced £22.5m funding to boost extra-curricular clubs at hundreds of schools, to tackle a “worrying trend” that has seen children spend more time “isolated at home” on the internet.

The cash boost is part of an £88m package of funding announced last Tuesday, to help schools, youth clubs, and organisations like Scouts and Guides expand youth services and activities for young people.

An Education Committee report last year found children’s screen time increased by 52% between 2020 and 2022, with almost one-quarter of children and young people using smartphones “in a way that is consistent with a behavioural addiction”.

The government says up to 400 schools will benefit from the £22.5m investment, with the funding spread over three years.

It aims to help schools create a “tailored enrichment offer”, giving pupils access to after-school activities such as sport, art, music, debating or volunteering.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said how the funding will be allocated, or how schools will be selected has not yet been decided. More information is expected in due course.

Source: £22.5m announced for after-school clubs to help ‘isolated’ kids (schoolsweek.co.uk)

3. Ofsted’s new inspection proposals criticised by DfE and sector leaders

School leaders say plans lack precision and do not account for new SEND education requirements, writes The Guardian.

Proposals for overhauled school inspections have been criticised as cosmetic, vague and potentially out of date by school leaders and DfE officials, just days before approval by Ofsted’s management.

Ofsted has revised its proposed new grading system, renaming grades (including “secure” to “expected standard” and “exemplary” to “exceptional”), reducing evaluation areas from 9 to 7, and updating its report card colour scheme.

However, the changes have been criticised as “cosmetic” by school leaders and are unlikely to settle the fears of teaching unions and multi-academy trusts, with one describing the proposals as “a pick-and-mix of statutory rules taken from random documents and turned into an inspection framework”.

Furthermore, DfE officials have raised concerns that the proposals fail to take account of the government’s plans to have mainstream schools open more units for children with SEND.

Feedback from DfE describes “future-proofing and sequencing concerns” about the toolkit, including that the expectations around pupils with SEND “may become out of date”. It also suggests schools may be put off enrolling pupils with special needs because of Ofsted’s requirement that schools must achieve “above average outcomes” in SATs or GCSEs to be awarded high inspection grades.

A spokesperson for Ofsted declined to respond directly to the criticisms.

Sources: Ofsted’s new inspection proposals are vague and out of date, say experts (theguardian.co.uk)